Kings Prithivi Narayan, Mahendra: Villains or Heroes of Nepal?

Let us imagine, what would be our identity if Great King Prithivi Narayan Shah had not unified small states into a modern Nepal? What would be our future if King Mahendra had not introduced the nation-building process of the country?
Today, we have our own country and our own identity. It is because of the great sacrifices made by the Nepali Kings. Nepal has remained an independent and sovereign nation. Nepal was never colonized by any foreign forces and Nepalis had never been slaves of the imperialist forces. This is a precious gift for all the Nepalis from the monarchs. There are a large number of people around the world who have lost their country and identity. Not far away from Nepal, even in India, many ethnic nationalities have lost their country and identity. They are still fighting and even sacrificing their lives for the great cause of their motherland. If we listen to the plight of those who have lost their motherland, it is really very painful. Nepal didn’t face such a sad story as the Nepali kings safeguarded our motherland. Among them, the visionary acts of Great King Prithivi Narayan and King Mahendra cannot be forgotten and their names cannot be removed from the golden pages of Nepal’s glorious history.

King Prithivi Narayan fought a big war against the British imperialists and the Christianization of the country. He declared Nepal as the “Asal Hindustan”. Considering the existence of Nepal in between the two giant nations China and India, the King formulated visionary policies based on preserving Nepali culture, tradition, religion, language, economy, politics, and foreign policy based on Nepali characteristics. King Prithivi Narayan’s visionary policies, which are comprised in the Dibbya Upadesh (Devin Counsels) are still significant. We can make Nepal a strong and prosperous nation if we adhere to the Great King’s policies for the country.

Talking about King Mahendra, he was the visionary leader who not only modernized the nation but gave a proper shape to the country in different dimensions. Due to his hard efforts, Nepal was not only recognized in the international arena but also the country had made revolutionary achievements. In fact, King Mahendra hardly ruled the nation for one decade, nevertheless, this was the actual decade for nation-building. We can see efforts for infrastructural development, the opening of educational and health institutions nationwide, industrialization process, opening doors for tourism, replacement of Indian syllabus in educational institutions, replacement of Indian currency by our own currency, construction of East-West Highway, construction of Kodari Highway, the introduction of revolutionary land reforms policy, among others. In this small column, it is impossible to mention in detail King Mahendra’s contribution, The political system introduced by King Mahendra was an appropriate and sustainable system for peace, development, and prosperity, which has been proved today.

The country’s downfall started along with the adoption of the Western model of democracy in 1990. Today, we are practicing “loktantra” and we don’t know, where we are heading for! The main characteristics of the present political mechanism are rampant commission and corruption, mal-governance, nepotism, favoritism, sycophancy. In one sentence, we may define the political system as “for the leaders, of the leaders and by the leaders”!

In yesterday’s Nepal, the month Pous used to be very important because the then partyless Panchayat system was introduced on 1 Pous, late King Birendra’s birthday used to be celebrated on 14 Pous, and Great King Prithvi Narayan Shah’s birth anniversary used to be celebrated as the national unity day on 27 Pous. These three events were important for patriotic Nepalis. Unfortunately, since 1990, the significance of these patriotic events started to decline and since the 2006 uprising, those who were funded and guided by their foreign bosses, not only started to defame the Nepali kings but also projected them as if they were the traitors! Specifically, talking about CK Raut or Pramod Mishra or other individuals, they are just pleasing their foreign bosses, in the meantime, they are trying to hide the wrong deeds of the present-day leaders by wiping out the plight, frustration, and anger of the general public against the so-called people’s representatives!

Let them compare Nepal during the kings’ era and the era without monarchy without a prejudiced mind, then only the truth will be seen! Let’s assume if the monarchs had not safeguarded Nepal, where Lal or Mishra would have been disappeared, perhaps, in a small town in Bihar?

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By:- PR Pradhan